> Many years ago I read in a magazine a package introducing
> procedure which sounds very strange but worked like a charm.

I am sure that this technique can work and has worked, BUT the conditions under
which packages can be installed and the level of knowledge of the new beekeeper
can vary so widely that I can guarantee that at a very minimum, 20% of those
trying this method will come to some kind of grief.  The system described is too
complex and there are too many paces to go wrong compared to waiting for dark,
opening the hive and dumping in the bees along with the queen, then putting
things in and closing things up the way they should be -- and not returning for
several days.  That last item is the hard one for many.

I won't go into all the possible pitfalls here, but recommend searching the
archives at http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/BEE-L/ using _install package_ as
the key with 'substring search' checked.

> leftover bees ought to have abandoned their home of the previous week
> and joined their sisters and queen down below.

The key words here are 'ought to have'.  I've heard lots of horror stories and
you can read some among the 198 hits -- if you do the above search.

If you want to see packages installed by hundreds with no fooling around, visit
http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Diary/2000/Diary040100.htm

allen